Midview City 'landlord' arrested after attacking tenant's wife and toddler

[UPDATE: Dec 7]

The 64-year-old "landlord" was arrested on Friday (Dec 4) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, police confirmed.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident on Nov 21 arose due to a tenancy dispute. There has also been "several other police reports lodged by different parties" against the man, the police added.

The man is also being investigated in relation to allegations of criminal trespass, theft and harassment.

"The police will look into the matter thoroughly and fairly. We do not condone acts of violence which may cause harm to others," the police noted.

"The parties involved have been advised to heed the instruction of police officers and not take the law into their own hands while investigations are ongoing."

---

Navigating landlord-tenant relationships can often be frustrating. For one couple, though, an attempt to lease an office space turned into a dramatic ordeal involving illegal subletting, assault and theft after encountering a "landlord" from hell.

Taking to Facebook today (Dec 2) to air his grievances, Don Tan said that his "landlord" had been pretending to be the owner of his office unit at Midview City, and had even attacked his wife and three-year-old son.

The man is being investigated for voluntarily causing hurt, the police confirmed in response to AsiaOne's queries.

Tan and his business partner had found the rental listing on Carousell and had decided on it as it was a central location and a "decent office", he wrote.

However, their "landlord" soon began exhibiting strange behaviour.

He would allegedly enter the unit as he pleased, sometimes even without their consent, Tan claimed.

"We found it peculiar as he was always dressed with the same T-shirt and shorts. He claimed to own 16 units in the building and four companies."

But they only found out the truth when the actual landlord of the unit showed up. It turned out that the man had allegedly breached his contract by subletting the unit illegally to Tan.

Tan then signed a tenancy agreement with the actual landlord.

The "landlord" continued to attempt to contact them, but they ignored his calls and messages, Tan said.

The last straw came when the man attacked his wife and child while he briefly left the office on Nov 21.

A 41-second CCTV clip posted by Tan showed the man entering the office, pushing past Tan's wife, who was carrying his son at the time.

The man was also shown pushing her and grabbing her arm as she struggled and yelled repeatedly for him to "get out".

The incident left Tan's wife with a fractured toe, bruises, abrasions, and a bite mark on her arm, he said, adding that his son was also traumatised.

She was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the police confirmed. 

But the couple's ordeal did not end there.

The next day, the man allegedly broke into their unit and stole their surveillance camera's memory card.

He also broke their lock, installed his own lock, drilled holes in their wall and barricaded the entrance, Tan said.

According to Tan, there has not been any action taken against the man, leaving him "utterly disappointed".

Warning others to be wary of the man, who goes by several aliases, Tan noted: "I believe we are not the only ones that are tolerating this 'landlord'. He rented many units and 'sublet' to many tenants without the owner's knowledge.

"If you are one of them, see for yourself and know who you are dealing with."

AsiaOne has reached out to Midview City for more information. 

Landlords should not enter property without tenant's permission

Most tenancy agreements will include clauses spelling out the circumstances in which landlords are allowed to access the property, such as in the case of an emergency or to make repairs.

Generally, landlords should only enter the property with the tenant's prior consent and should not drop in unannounced. 

Before signing the agreement, prospective tenants are also advised to verify that they are dealing with the legitimate owner of the property.

This can be done by having the landlord log in to their MyProperty portal, which lists the properties owned by a person.

ALSO READ: I pushed her because I couldn't breathe, says 'landlord' accused of attacking tenant's wife

kimberlylim@asiaone.com